


Unmasked

by theauthorandtheartist



Series: Swords and Spirits [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Blood and Injury, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Everyone's a li'l shit, Flashbacks, Funny jokes, Gen, Haha I try, Happy Ending, Hero's spirit is a parasite, I Made Myself Cry, If you're into that stuff, Injury, Malice infection, Mask is a li'l shit, Mask needs a hug, Memories, Mourning, Multiple forgiveness arcs, Not too graphic tho, Ocarina of Time, Oooh boy strap yourselves in we're going for a ride, Optional bittersweet ending, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Portals, Pulling a Vio, Searching for Four, Shadow is a li'l shit, Shameless headcannons, Shouldn't be as dark as the prequel, So much Forshadowing, Sparring, Time Travel, Timeline trouble, Transformation masks, Uncontrollable Powers, Wild and Mask are gremlins, Yellow Link, Yellow has a speech impediment, bad memories, change my mind, it's adorable, lots of them - Freeform, missing character, several times, will be the death of me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25965388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthorandtheartist/pseuds/theauthorandtheartist
Summary: Sky was happy. His relationship with the others was steadily improving, and he had a good feeling that they were getting closer to finding their missing friend! So when another sword spirit appears, and the portals become to get more frequent, he assumes the best.They were going to find Four soon, he could feel it....Mask was tired. He'd been chasing Dark Link for exactly two years, three months, six days, eight hours, twenty-seven minutes, and thirteen seconds, while also trying to undo any accidental paradoxes he made along the way. So when a sword falls from the sky, and he discovers that the heroes are decidedly not when they're supposed to be, he assumes the worst.It had to be his fault somehow, it always was. Now he just had to fix it.
Relationships: Blue Link & Green Link & Red Link & Shadow Link & Vio Link, Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda) & Time (Linked Universe), Sky/Sun (Linked Universe)
Series: Swords and Spirits [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883443
Comments: 22
Kudos: 129





	1. Spirit of the Four Sword

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Unmasked! 
> 
> This is the sequel to my other story "When the Sky Falls" which was a pretty dark one, so I'll update the TW as we get to them in-story. 
> 
> For now, we have the general TWs for death, casual mentions of death, violence, blood, and discussions of mental health.
> 
> I will add more as we come to them. 
> 
> And another warning, this story contains an OC of mine, who is another part of Four. Yellow is the opposite of Shadow (or, Indigo) and was trapped in the Four Sword from the moment they pulled it, so Four didn't know he existed until he died (spoilers for WtSF). I came up with him for my other story, "Shattered Spirit," and couldn't resist writing for him again. 
> 
> FYI for new people, Aia is the name of Sky's loftwing, and has joined them on their quest. 
> 
> ALSO! Some of you might remember this story having more chapters than it does now, and you'd be correct! I am rewriting this story from scratch, so any non-rewritten chapters have been deleted to make way for the new ones. So sorry if it causes any problems. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (PS. School is starting tomorrow, so I might not update quite as fast as I did the last two stories I posted.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow steals the show.

Sky lounged lazily on his bedroll, leaning against his sleeping loftwing. It was early morning in a new Hyrule, the third one they'd traveled through after Ghirahim's death. 

He scratched the feathers on Aia's cheek, the bird purring slightly under his touch. His soulmate had been nearly insufferable over the past two months, searching feverishly for their missing companion. 

Four was important to him too, and he wanted to see him safe as well, but the way Aia had been searching was getting to be unhealthy. This was the first time she'd slept more than an hour in weeks. There was nothing Sky could do to help Four at the moment, but he  _ could _ make sure Aia took care of herself. 

Still, the search for Four was frustratingly difficult, leading no clues except the sword with the topaz hilt (safely stored in Wild's slate) that had dropped when he'd first disappeared. Magic thrummed readily under the surface, but no one seemed to be able to unlock it just yet. 

Wild sat up from his bedroll, yawning widely and stretching his arms. Twilight twitched beside him, hiding his face from the rising sun. He spotted Sky and waved, standing up to make breakfast. 

Sky waved back, smiling. He'd only grown closer to the other heroes since they'd killed Ghirahim, and he was certainly glad for it. Twilight and Warriors had quickly become two of his closest friends, and he and Wild had only gotten fonder of each other. Wind and Hyrule often invited him to play games with them, exchanging entertainment from their vastly different times. 

Time and Legend...well...they were getting there. Time actively pursued him whenever he could, and was now slowly drawing Sky into his tight-knit group of virtually-adopted heroes. Sky couldn't say he disliked it, but it was awkward sometimes. 

Legend wasn't  _ bad  _ at making friends -per say- he was just not very  _ good _ at it. His attempts at humor were often sarcastic, and Sky found himself blushing of embarrassment more often than not. Still, he appreciated the effort. 

Wild whistled as he cooked, and the smell of pancakes wafted through the clearing, waking up the others and leading them to the fire. Aia grumbled as Sky stood, tucking her beak further underneath her wing. He let her sleep. 

Breakfast passed uneventfully, and Aia joined them halfway through, the feathers on her head sticking up in a hilarious fashion. Sky  _ might _ have gotten a face full of feathers when he laughed, but then again, Legend and Warriors did too, so he was good. 

The wind rustled through the trees, blowing his white hair from his gray face. He didn't recognise this Hyrule as his own, but had the nagging suspicion they'd been there before. Relatively recently, too. 

The sweet smell of fresh nectar blew in from beyond the treeline, where Sky knew a vast but empty field of flowers lay. Birds chirped from the trees, trying to get Aia's attention. It was peaceful, and so naturally everyone was on edge. 

Something shrieked, scaring everyone halfway to Hylia and completely shattering the serene atmosphere that had gathered. Sky slapped his hands to his ears, wincing as Aia hid her head beneath her wing with a whimper.

It screeched again, and Twilight went to investigate the bushes with his hands over his pointed ears. 

Everyone knew Twi's hearing was more sensitive than everyone else's. No one (except Wild and Time) quite knew why, but were willing to look past it. He was their best watchman, so it couldn't be that bad. 

The noise stopped, and a sigh of relief was shared between them all. Twilight emerged from the foliage, delicately cupping something tiny, blue, and shivering in his hands. 

It was a little bluebird, whining softly with its wing bent at an odd angle. It was shivering badly, and drew in on itself when Aia pushed her beak closer to nudge it. Twilight pulled it away. "Careful, it's scared." 

The bird cheeped, rubbing its head against the rancher's thumb, and the rancher raised an eyebrow. "Come again?" 

Oh right, Twilight could talk to animals as well. Aia was  _ extremely  _ miffed that he'd hidden it for so long. 

"What did he say?" Wind asked, standing on his tip toes to try and see. 

Twilight hesitated, glancing around at all of their expectant faces. Sky would admit, he was curious as well. "He was just explaining what had happened. His name is Zeffa, and he met some monsters while looking for his friend Link." He spoke finally, and Aia squawked, feathers puffing up almost comically around her neck. She nudged Sky's back, and a long prior conversation on the deck of a ship returned from his memory. 

"...Okay, then. Does anyone have a bird friend they haven't told us about?" Legend looked around, eyebrows raised. He was greeted with several shakes of the head, and one nod from Aia, whom they decided didn't count on the basis that  _ all  _ her friends were birds. 

Sky rubbed his chin, staring at the ground in contemplation and trying his hardest to remember the exact words. "Four mentioned to me that he flew around on a bird on his adventure-" 

"But this thing's tiny!" Warriors interrupted, laughing. "I know he's short but he's not  _ that  _ short. He'd have to be half-an-inch tall to ride that thing!" 

"Maybe he was." Hyrule shrugged, "A shrinking spell wouldn't be that far fetched. We've seen weirder." 

Wild clapped him on the back, giggling. "We sure have!" 

"So this is Four's Hyrule, which means we have no idea what to expect." Time sighed, running a hand down his face. "However, we might run into Four himself here, so keep your eyes peeled." 

The group nodded grimly, and continued on their way, the bluebird sitting grumpily on Twilight's palm. Ten minutes passed in relative quiet, before the bird screeched again.

"What is it now." Time groaned, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. 

Zeffa snapped her beak together, chirping between clicks in what was probably supposed to be sarcasm. Twilight translated with a sigh as Aia laughed behind him. "He wants to know a few things about us." 

"Which are?" Sky goaded, intrigued. 

"Well, first he wants to know how we know Four. That one's pretty easy." Twilight shrugged, and the bird pecked him. 

"We're friends. We're actually looking for him as well, he went missing and left his sword behind." Wild spoke with a smile, pressing a button on the slate and materializing the Four Sword in his palm, which Warriors promptly snatched to avoid it being broken. Wild's reputation proceeded him, and Sky doubted that Four would be very happy if he got back to a broken blade.

Zeffa paused a moment, staring intently at the sword, then struggled to his feet. He whined as his broken wing was jostled, but eventually managed to stand on his tiny, twiggy feet and lean over the edge of Twilight's palm towards the sword. As the rancher moved his hand closer, the bird hopped off of his finger and onto the tip of the hilt, claws scratching at the sparkling topaz. 

She chirped, and Twilight brought a hand to his face. "Hyrule, can you please heal Zeffa's wing. He's being passive aggressive again." 

"Wait a minute, are we sure that's a good ide-" Legend, always the skeptic, tried to protest, but Hyrule was already rubbing his hands together. 

"Don't worry Zeffa, it'll be done in a jiffy." The traveler smiled, holding out his gold-shrouded hands to heal the tiny bird. 

Sky smiled, that was nice of him. 

As the bone snapped into place, Zeffa cried out in pain. Just as the last feathers put themselves back into place, the sword he sat on began to glow. Startled, Hyrule drew his arm back, the light fading from both his hands and the hilt. 

A spark of hope ignited in Sky's heart at the sight, and Aia nearly fell over in pure joy. 

Zeffa, his wing having been fully healed, fluttered from his perch and nested in Twilight's hair looking very happy with himself. The rancher barely noticed, too busy staring at the sword like everyone else. 

The blade did nothing. 

"Hyrule," Wild stepped forwards, taking the blade back with a calculating look in his eye. "Do that again, with the magic." 

Eyes wide, Hyrule did. His hands rested on the gemstone, both glowing with a pale yellow light. A few moments passed, where everyone waited with baited breath for something,  _ anything _ , to happen. 

A soft " _ Ding _ !" broke the silence, as the sword stopped glowing and reverted back to it's silent state. The sound of static filled the air for a moment, before a quiet, young voice called out as if through Wind's gossip-stone. " _ Hello?" _

Aia squawked, flapping her wings wildly to celebrate. Everyone else drew closer to where Wild held the blade in front of him. " _ Hello? Who there?" _ The little voice called again, a slight panic to its tone. 

"Uh, hi, I'm Wind. Are you Four?" Wind asked, taking both the initiative and the sword from Wild's grasp. 

" _ Four?" _

"Yes, we have a friend named Four." It was Time's turn with the weapon, which looked hilariously small in his grasp. "Do you know him?" 

" _ No Four. Have four brothers, but no name Four." _

Sky's eyebrows raised. Four had never mentioned family. 

"Can you speak normally please?" Legend snapped, snatching it from Time and examining the hilt. 

The kid (because what else could it be?) whined, the gemstone flashing a pale golden light. " _ No. Trapped whole life, never learned talk until Indigo. Still can't do good _ ." 

Sky blinked, unnerved by the concerning sentence, and took the sword from Legend. If he was going to be rude, then he wouldn't get to hold their new friend. "Hello, I'm Sky, What's your name?" He asked, in a special soothing tone that he often used to calm his daughter. 

_ "...Yellow." _

"Well hello there Yellow, it's nice to meet you." Warriors clapped a hand on Sky's shoulder, grinning. "You said you had brothers?" 

The blade buzzed in excitement. " _ Yeah! Four brothers -Red, Blue, Vio, Green- one cousin Indigo." _

Hyrule frowned, peering up over Warriors' elbow. "Do you have any idea where they might be?" 

"... _ No. Lost track after split. Can sense them if close though!"  _

__ "That's great news!" Warriors grinned, leaving Sky to join Twilight, Legend, and Time in making their new plan. As it seemed they would be camping here for a while, Sky set his things down beside a tree, leaning Yellow up against the bark and sitting beside it, Aia quickly following. Wild sent Wind and Hyrule out to get firewood, while he set up his cooking pot and ingredients. 

The soft breeze caressed Sky's features, soothing both mind and muscle alike into something akin to peace. Zeffa, still atop Twilight's hair, began to sing a jolly little tune, rejoicing in the scathing look that Aia shot at him. 

_ "...spirit too?" _ Yellow's voice was quiet, hesitant. 

Sky's heart twisted at the sound. "Yes, I am also a sword spirit."

_ "...Tha's good. I sleep now." _ The spirit sighed, the glow of the gemstone fading until its memory was merely a trick of the light. 

Sky frowned, staring off into space. Someone else would need to carry Yellow around, since he already had two swords of his own. Maybe Wind? Or maybe Hyrule? Someone small…

Sky chuckled as Aia pressed her beak into his chest. He could think on that later. As the other heroes talked strategy, Sky patted the little sword's hilt. "Goodnight Yellow, sweet dreams." 


	2. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoever dropped the sword on Mask's head needs to stop.

Mask struggled to keep his eyelids open, scouring the ground for the smallest of seeds as the sun disappeared over the horizon, casting shadows across the grass and bathing the world in an eerie red light. He'd been walking up and down Hyrule Field for nearly an hour now, searching for the tiniest of items that could cause the biggest of catastrophes. 

In a nutshell, he was here to fix his own stupid mistake. 

Around three weeks ago -he didn't know for sure, it was hard to tell with all the time travel- Mask had been trekking through this exact field, and had dropped one of his deku nuts from his bag. 

This seed would sprout and later become a tree that, should it be allowed to grow, would eventually be struck by lightning. The noise would spook the horse of one post-calamity hero, bucking its rider and sending him careening headfirst into the dirt. This would give him a nasty concussion, which would affect his prowess in his next battle against the Yiga, causing him to have one less fairy in his fight against the great evil. 

He would still win, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but it was still a _change to the timeline_ , so naturally, Mask could not let this happen. Hence, why he was back here, searching for a single nut in a three hundred acre field not two hours after his past self had dropped it. 

But then _some asshole_ decided to drop a _fucking sword_ from the _fucking sky_ and nearly _impale his godessdamned head._

As the random blade whistled past his ear, Mask threw himself to the side, tumbling to the ground and scratching up his hands and knees. He scrambled to his feet, searching the skies for the motherfucker who'd tried to kill him. When he found no one, Mask picked up the offending weapon to examine it, hoping to find a clue to its owner, and promptly dropped it again. 

He didn't know when he was, the eras blended together after a while, but he thought he was somewhere between the Era of Twilight and the Great Calamity. Either way, he was in an era where the _fucking Four Sword_ should _not_ be falling upon random travelers from the clouds. Where it _should_ be, was locked up in the Palace of the Four Sword where it belonged, not here in Hyrule Field nearly _ten thousand years_ after its initial sealing. 

Mask hadn't even _been_ to the Era of the Four Sword in what felt like _ages_ , so why was he only seeing the domino affect now? Usually he'd be able to spot the beginnings of these altercations before they progressed too far, so the fact that he hadn't was worrying. He'd need to pay more attention.

This wasn't going to cause a paradox, right? Mask could not afford another one of _those._ He was already in enough trouble with Hylia as it was, and his to do list (full of errors he'd made that he still needed to correct, lest the timelines fall apart) was already booked solid. 

What did he do to create this one? He had to have done _something -_ these things don't happen on their own, and everything ties back to Mask's mistakes eventually- the only question was _what._

He ran a thumb over the emerald in the hilt, feeling the thrumm of magic under its surface, and frowned. Something had changed. Something was different about this sword than the one he had helped seal ten thousand years prior. The magic felt stronger, lighter, and more focused than the wild, unkempt power he'd felt before. 

This was unfamiliar. _Different_ . Mask didn't like different, especially without explanation. If he didn't know why something was wrong, then he didn't know when he had to go to fix it, and he _had_ to fix it. If he caused it (which was the case with most everything), then he needed to un-cause it somehow, lest he have another Downfall Timeline Incident. Nobody wanted another Downfall Timeline Incident. 

The closest thing he could compare the feeling of the magic to would be the spirits that the Hero of Winds encountered. It was similar, but not the same. 

The deeper magic lay locked under layers of fatigue, the spirit -because it _must_ be a spirit- lying temporarily dormant from lack of energy. The tall grasses swayed around Mask's legs as he sat down right then and there to look through his bag. 

He was going to assume the magic was a sleeping spirit, and since spirits fed on the energy around them, theoretically Mask should be able to wake it up with enough magic. Surely he had to have _something_ from his travels with enough to awaken it. 

His fingers closed around a smooth glass bottle, pulling out a little blue fairy with a glow that was so familiar yet so very foreign at the same time. Mask shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. 

The cork slipped from the neck of the bottle easily, the young fairy fluttering out with a silent question. "Could you try to heal this sword?" He asked, fully aware of how stupid he sounded. 

The fairy paused a moment, then shrugged and worked its magic, sparkling blue dust falling from its wings and landing gently on the sharpened blade. The specks shimmered for a moment before sinking into the metal. The emerald in the hilt began to glow softly, twinkling in the twilight. 

_"Hello?"_ A voice called from within the blade, and Mask frowned. The fairy magic was strong, but not strong enough to fully awaken the spirit within. He would need something else for that. Another fairy, perhaps?

If the spirit woke up, then he could tell Mask what was happening. If he knew what was happening, then he could figure out how to un-happen it somehow, and get one step closer to Hylia's favor. 

"Hey, I'm Mask. You?" He re-corked the bottle, shoving it back into his bag and crossing his legs. The Four Sword lay across his lap as he pushed his various masks to the side, digging through his potion pouch for another fairy. 

_"Green. Where am I? Where are my brothers? Where are the other heroes? I gotta get back to them so we can kill Ghirahim!"_ The little voice grew more and more panicked the longer he talked, and Mask grew more and more confused. 

He frowned. Why would they need to kill Ghirahim? He disappeared long before the Picori Blade had even existed, let alone the Four Sword. 

"Aren't the heroes still spread out across time?" He asked, giving up on the fairy and searching for something else with magic capabilities. 

" _Not anymore. We keep getting pulled to different times by black portals."_

"We?" He raised an eyebrow, fingers brushing against the silver arrow that he'd won fair and square from Ravio in a poker game (without cheating at all). 

The sword went silent for a moment. _"...Yeah. I'm the Hero of the Four Sword. Part of him, at least. Who wants to know?"_

Mask dropped the shaft, which rolled across the grass and stopped a few feet away. "That doesn't make sense…" he mumbled, eyes wide. If the Hero of the Four Sword was here, then who was back there? Why were the heroes being displaced? This was definitely somehow his fault. Oh, he was going to be in _so much trouble_ once Hylia found out, he could kiss any hope of going home goodbye. 

" _Earth to Mask, you in there? I asked you a question."_

Mask shook himself out of it, sighing."Right, sorry. I have a couple titles, but the most famous one is the Hero of Time. I go by the Banished Hero now, though." 

Grabbing the shaft, he pushed some of his own magic into the tip to amplify it. If he was correct in his assumptions, then the magic in the silver arrow should jump-start the Hero's energy, giving him just enough to physically form. Hopefully. He'd never worked with this kind of spirit before. 

" _That's impossible_ . _The Hero of Time is back in the Skyloft Era with the others."_

Mask choked on his spit, accidentally overloading the arrowhead for a moment and sending bright blue sparks up into the air that he prayed didn't ignite anything. What was he doing in the _Skyloft Era_ of all places? What had Mask done to get _that_ outcome from the timelines?

Wait, wait, he could fix that later. One thing at a time, he had to supercharge a spirit first. 

Wiping the leftover saliva from his cheek, he gently tapped the tip of the head to the emerald hilt. "This might hurt for a moment, hold on." 

A flash of light nearly blinded him as he dropped the arrow like it burned. He blinked the spots from his eyes, rubbing them as the field came back into focus. That wasn't too bad, Mask had been expecting some huge explo-

The previously bound magic detonated, knocking him backwards and flinging the Four Sword into the long grass. As he struggled to sit up, trying in vain to tie his hair back into its tiny ponytail again, someone -who was definitely not him- groaned loudly.

Dragging his bag behind him, and picking up his now tarnished silver arrow on the way, Mask crawled towards the source of the noise. A large circle of grass had been blown down, leaving the sword and a humanoid figure lying in the center. The person sat up, and Mask got his first good look at the Hero of the Four Sword. 

Mask thought _he_ liked the color green, but this kid took that to another level. Green was the _only_ color in his palate besides black and white, but strangely enough, it worked. His wide minty eyes stared suspiciously at him, mouth a tiny, upside-down V on his face. His skin was a soft olive color, and his white hair had vibrant grassy highlights. The emerald crystals on his forehead, chest, and belt buckle all shimmered with a lime-colored light. 

His tunic, trousers, and sleeves were all a brilliant jade, with black bracers on his arms and boots of the same color. White accents wound around his torso, framing the gemstone in his chest. The belt on his waist and headband on his head were a luminous, snowy white.

That all was fine, he'd seed much weirder things than just a single colored palate. What really threw Mask for a loop was his complete lack of shoulders or hips. His arms and legs floated a good six inches from his torso, held suspended by some invisible magic that was probably way to complicated to comprehend. 

"Uh, hello." Mask waved, scooting himself into a sitting position and brushing some dirt off of his filthy green tunic. "Welcome back to reality, good to meet you face to face." 

Green groaned again, hoisting himself up to sit cross legged on the bent grass. "Thanks." He said dryly, rubbing his forehead as if to stave off a headache.

**"** No problem." Yawning, Mask leaned back slightly. The sun was beginning to turn orange, a sure sign of dusk approaching. "So...you know another me?" He asked, his first of many, _many_ questions that fell through his mind like dry sand through fingers.

Green nodded, setting his head on his knees and groaning. It seemed that sudden magic overload came with some side effects. 

Mask pulled a red potion from his pouch, rolling it across the grass. "Describe him to me. Is he a depressed teenager? Super young kid? Grumpy Adult?" When Green took a moment to respond, Mask looked around with narrowed eyes, leaning in closer and speaking at a whisper. "He's not dead, is he?" 

Green spluttered as he choked on the potion, spewing expensive liquid across the field. "What? No! Why would you even think that?" 

He shrugged. "Just checking. Are you gonna describe him or not? Because against common belief, 'not dead' doesn't narrow the options down very much." 

Green sighed, grumbling between sips. "He's an adult. A married adult with major prejudice issues."

"Ah, you got the one happy timeline. Good for you." 

Frowning, Green tilted his head to the side, bracing his hands on his crossed legs. "Happy timeline? As opposed to what?" 

"The unhappy timelines, obviously." Mask hopped up to his feet, hoisting his bag over his shoulder and stretching out his arms with a satisfying _pop._ "So, any reason you fell from the sky?" He held out his hand to help Green up. "Or, you know, why you're like _this_ ? Because last I saw you you were _definitely_ still hylian."

Green took it, looking at his hand as if he'd never seen it before. "What the...what... _oh."_

"You figure it out?" Mask hopped up and down to see above the grass, scanning the land for any sign of Dark Link's monsters. It had been pretty peaceful lately, and he was getting very suspicious. 

There, near the treeline, a small group of monsters marched nearly invisibly through the grass, making it impossible to tell exactly what kinds of monsters they were. They needed to leave before they got there, lest the timelines get even _more_ screwed up than they already were. For all Mask knew, fighting those monsters could indirectly kill some key character that the hero needs to succeed. He couldn't take that chance. 

Mask hadn't fought or killed a single monster since he was banished for that very reason, terrified that any misstep could spur Hylia into another fit of wrath. No, it was easier to just switch eras. Run before they even arrive, and if that's not possible, run before they hurt him too badly. 

"Yeah I-" The spirit gulped, running a tentative finger down the emerald on his chest. "I think I'm dead." 

"Say what now?" He turned around, growing horror carefully hidden by a facade of confusion. 

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Green's brow furrowed, pupil-less glowing eyes shining with newfound clarity. "I fell, and died, and now I guess I'm a sword spirit like Sky. Man, this sucks." 

He would need to ask about this "Sky" person later. Mask closed his eyes tightly, bending down to pick up the Four Sword from where it lay in the grass. "Here's your sword. We're going to need to move along pretty quickly, since there's a big group of probably infected monsters over yonder." 

He pulled out the Ocarina of Time, raising it gently to his lips with one hand, while still holding out the sword with the other. "Any particular era you want? I'm getting pretty good at aiming this thing, but sometimes I screw up and land on top of the Stallord." 

Green looked perturbed, but Mask merely shrugged."You probably don't have to worry. That's only happened like two times, which isn't that bad, but it's weird that it happened twice." 

"Uh, could you take me back to the Skyloft Era? My friends were there last time I checked." Green blinked, rubbing the back of his head and taking the sword. It might have just been hi's paranoia talking, but Green seemed a little panicked when Mask had picked up the blade. He would keep that little quirk in mind. 

"Alright, so back in time. I think that's in a minor key…" He trailed off, positioning his fingers accordingly and letting the sweet Song of Time flow from the instrument just as the first bokoblin appeared from the tall grass. 

The pig grunted, hoisting its club and charging towards their little duo. Green gasped and grabbed his arm as the music swirled around them, and Mask made a split second decision. As the snarling swine swung his club downwards, without halting his song he closed his eyes and prayed (not to Hylia, never to Hylia). 

Nayru loved him, and it showed. 

Green looked on in wonder as the weapon bounced off of the holy shield and smacked its wielder in the snout with a _crack._ Screeching its last, the monster evaporated into purple mist just as the music finished its job, blurring the world around them until only color and vague echoes of shapes remained. 

The tune took on a slightly faster tempo as Mask realized what he'd just done. He'd broken his number one rule, he'd _killed a monster._

_Who knows_ what that could do to the timeline! Hylia would have his head!

The quick, staccato notes bounced as the colors swirled, combining to form a new, completely different scene. 

The flat ground they stood on sloped downwards until it was nearly vertical, the tall grass replaced by heaving boulders twice their size. Pebbles dislodged themselves from beneath their feet, hopping down the mountain path and out of sight. Far below them, sparse trees and thick bushes obscured their view of the forest floor, hiding who knows what within their branches. The noontime sun beat down upon their backs, their sweat beading on their foreheads and slipping down their necks. 

Smoke rose from a town far in the distance. Definitely not the Skyloft Era. 

"Damnit, I didn't play long enough." Mask sighed, turning in a circle to see where he'd landed them. After he'd determined when he was, he turned to Green with a smile. "Welcome home I guess, don't get comfortable, we probably won't stay for long." 

  
  



	3. A Friendly Spar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wind is full of surprises.

**“** So, who’s gonna carry Yellow?” Sky asked the group, holding their new friend’s sword out in front of them. “I already have two swords of my own.” 

It was the next afternoon, and the sun was nearly at its peak. They’d been in this forest for nearly three days now, without any sign of civilization. They’d spent this empty time getting to know their new member, asking questions about him, his brothers, and his past in an effort to piece together this puzzle that had been given to them. They hadn’t had much luck on that respect, but Yellow’s answers had uncovered a couple of secrets that the group was  _ stillI  _ trying to wrap their heads around. 

For one, the name “Four” was more literal than they had originally thought. Apparently the Four Sword had split Link’s soul upon being drawn, trapping Yellow in the blade while his brothers -and his cousin Indigo, who he was surprisingly tight lipped about- went on to complete their adventure. The other colors didn’t even know Yellow existed, and he hadn’t had any sort of social contact until very recently. In fact, he had only just learned to talk two years ago, when Indigo died and was trapped in the sword with him (again, Yellow refused to elaborate). 

That last fact earned Legend a few scathing glances, as the veteran had teased the young spirit about his speech a few times by that point. 

Using this information, they had figured out that Four’s parts were probably separated across time, asleep in their swords just like Yellow was, waiting to be awakened. Sky was sickened by the thought, and he knew Aia was too, considering she had confiscated the blade for nearly two hours and sat curled around it like it was her own egg. Yellow hadn’t minded the attention, and Sky had understood where she was coming from. She got motherly when she was worried. 

They had successfully uncovered more about their new friend, Now, they just needed to decide who would carry him. 

Wild began to raise his hand, but Twilight grabbed it and placed it back in his lap, patting it. “No Wild, we all love you, but no.” 

Time shook his head. “That sword is two small for me.” Warriors and Twilight gave the same excuse, Zeffa chirping and nibbling the rancher's ear before flying off into the treetops. He must've been late to some bird meeting. Sky smiled softly, that was a nice thought. 

Snickering, Legend pointed around the circle of heroes. “I think a better question would be, who can dual wield?” 

Silence. Hyrule looked away sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head. Upon seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Legend threw his arms up. “I can’t, if that’s what you’re wondering. If I could I would  _ totally  _ carry the sword filled with unknown and undocumented magic, but I can’t so someone else will have to.” 

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the sailor, and he slowly raised his hand. 

“No way.” Warriors deadpanned. “There is no way you can wield two swords at once. Sky? Sure, he was trained as a knight, but dual wielding is an  _ advanced  _ maneuver.  _ I  _ can’t even do it!” 

Wind smirked and took Yellow from Sky’s hands, flicking the Captain off with the other. “I am a fucking  _ pirate _ , you always seem to forget that. Dual wielding is  _ easy mode. _ ” He swung Yellow around, drawing his Phantom Sword simultaneously and slashing them both through the air to show off. “Oh yeah, this’ll do. Hi Yellow!” 

“ _ Hi Wind!”  _ The sword chimed, blade pulsing for a moment with a bright, sunny glow.

Wild appeared by his side, stars in his eyes. “Dude, you  _ gotta  _ duel Sky with those! We gotta see who’s better!” 

Wind’s ears perked up, looking to Sky with a pleading expression. Sky flinched in surprise as Legend clapped him on the back, “Come on, we got time to kill. Besides, I wanna see the sailor’s so called skills in action.” 

“Hey!” Wind cried indignantly, “I have more skill than you do!” 

Aia’s supportive nudge to his side helped somewhat, but ultimately did nothing to soothe the knot in his stomach at the thought of fighting his friend. Even in play, he’d avoided sparring with any of the others since Ghirahim had forced him to attack, even if it was probably irrational. Ghirahim was gone, he reminded himself for the fiftieth time, he couldn’t force him to do anything anymore. 

...It was probably about time he got over this. 

Another nudge paired with a soft coo broke Sky out of his thoughts, just in time to see Wind still waiting for an answer. Yellow hummed excitedly at his side, glowing softly. “Okay sure,” He smiled, trying to share in their enthusiasm. 

Wind whooped, raising both swords in the air as Yellow cheered. He smiled again, a little less forced this time. “I’ll need a different sword though, so Fi doesn’t burn me.” 

Warriors, laughing, tossed him his. “Kick his little gremlin ass for me, okay Sky? I need payback for the spiders in my bedroll last week!” 

It was fine, he could do this. Sky winked playfully and took the blade. "I'll do my best, captain." 

"You better, or it'll be thirty laps!" Wars laughed, playing along as the rest of the group joined in. Wild gave a salute with his ladle, spraying hot pumpkin soup (for which Sky was very excited to eat) directly into the veteran's face. 

While Legend spluttered and the others laughed at his expense, Sky unsheathed the Master Sword and leaned it gently against a nearby tree. Silently praying for Hylia's strength, he turned to where Wind was twirling both his blades -Yellow squealing in childish delight as he spun around in the sailor's fingers. 

"Well? Come on now, clear the field!" Twilight hopped up to his feet, ushering everyone towards the edge of the small clearing. 

Warriors and Legend helped Wild carry his cooking supplies, moving the campfire so it left only a pile of ash on their battleground. They reset it up under a large birch, which probably was not the safest place to put it, but Wild didn't seem to care.

Time stepped between the two contestants, arms raised. "Alright boys, normal sparring rules still apply. No intentionally hurting each other, no magic items except for your swords, and no dirty tricks." That last part was punctuated by a soft glare in the sailor's direction, who batted his eyelashes innocently. 

"Hear that Wind? No hair-pulling!" Wild called from his place by the pot, waving his ladle accusingly. Wind stuck his tongue out at him. 

Time took a step back to referee beside Aia, allowing Sky and Wind to face off. The sailor smirked, Yellow's sword pulsing challengingly in his hand as Wind blew a stray hair from his mouth. "Don't go easy on me, I'm not a baby." 

"Wouldn't dream of it." Sky grinned, the excited atmosphere slowly getting the better of him. The knot in his stomach was slowly unraveling, and he had never felt so relieved. 

Time raised his open palm into the air, fingers splayed. "Five."

Sky adjusted his grip and widened his stance. Warriors' sword was a bit heavier than he was used to, but he would manage. 

"Four." 

A soft breeze blew Wind's hair to the side and caused Sky's cape to billow behind him.

"Three." 

The heroes on the sidelines held their breath, making themselves comfortable in the low hanging branches. 

"Two." 

Wind grinned, blue eyes flashing in determination. Yellow sang in his grip, glowing brighter by the second. 

"One." 

The world stood still.

"...Go!" Time brought his hand down at the exact moment that the two warriors charged. Aia screeched in encouragement as their first swords clashed. Sky jumped back to avoid Wind's second swing, slashing his borrowed sword low to leave him unbalanced. 

It was a deadly dance of steel and sparks, as Wind's saber cut a few silver hairs from the top of Sky's head as he ducked from a flying swing. Yellow pulsed brightly, and a transparent shield appeared to deflect Sky's horizontal swipe. Wind's eyes widened for a moment, then he grinned, charging forwards with renewed vigor. 

"Hey! That was magic!" Hyrule called from the sidelines, "That's cheating!" 

"No it's not," Legend's eyes never left the battle. "I'm guessing that was Yellow's spirit power, which means Wind was still using his sword. He better be careful though, Sky has more experience using his abilities than Yellow does." 

Sky jumped over the Phantom Sword and narrowed his eyes. Yellow had unlocked his ability, which would be great news if he wasn't locked in battle with him. He would need to get Yellow from Wind as soon as possible. 

He smirked, all four of their swords clashing in a star shape. Wind pulled away first, knowing he had no chance in a battle of brute strength, and they both hopped back, circling each other warily. 

The Skyward Sword began to glow in time with Yellow, and the wind picked up its pace. 

Wind's smile faltered. "Maybe I shouldn't have taught you so much…" 

Sky's only widened. "The student has become the master!" Laughing as he lunged forward, Sky's speed was boosted by the the air at his back. Yellow's shield appeared once again, but it flickered under the strength of Sky's barrage of blows. 

Wind was pushed back, fighting defensively instead of attacking like he usually did. The shield disappeared completely after a few moments, Yellow's glow dimming into a soft aura. 

Wind was good, he'd admit that, but Sky hadn't spent sixteen years training at the academy for nothing. 

The Skyward Sword slashed right, sending Wind's saber spinning to the side. Now one sword short, the sailor tried in vain to block both of Sky's slashes. The Four Sword went skidding across the grass, and Wind fell onto his backside.

Wind stared cross-eyed at the sword poking his nose, breathing heavily. Sky mimicked his breath patterns, casting Warriors' sword to the side and offering him his hand. 

Wind took it, an easy smile on his face. "If I knew you were  _ that  _ good I wouldn't have tried to challenge you." 

A chuckle escaped Sky's lips as he pulled the sailor into a side-hug. "You were pretty great too, you're a whiz with that saber." 

"Are you kidding? You  _ smoked  _ me!" Wind laughed heartily, grabbing Yellow from the grass and wiping some dirt from the blade. "You good, Yellow?" 

_ "Yeah! Do again! Do again!"  _ The sword chimed, somehow able to convey excitement and fatigue in the same sentence. 

A sudden hand on his shoulder caught Sky by surprise, whirling around to see Twilight grinning from ear to ear. "That was awesome, Sky. I gotta spar you sometime soon." 

"Me too!" Warriors retrieved his sword, "With those skills, I would've thought you were a knight!" 

Sky was just about to explain to Wars that he  _ was  _ a knight, but Aia interrupted him by preening his hair like the proud mama bird she was. 

Legend, Time, and Hyrule spoke to Wind, exchanging tips and observations so the sailor could do better next time. Despite himself, Sky was excited for the prospect of there  _ being  _ a next time. 

That was kind of fun. 

Wild shoved a bowl into his hands, grinning like a madman. "An extra special bowl for the winner!" Sky looked down at his pumpkin soup and his stomach growled. One, singular birch leaf floated in the orange liquid. Wild picked it out for him, whispering behind his hand. "Autumn came early, this one has the least leaves." 

"Thanks Wild." Sky grinned as the cook handed out the rest of the food, making sure Legend's bowl was the leafiest. 

As the group ate their dinner and wound down for the night (laughing as Legend spat out plants with each bite), Sky set up his bedroll near the tree where he'd leaned Fi. It was slightly farther away from the fire than he would've liked, but that spar from earlier left him hot and sweaty so he didn't mind too much. Plus, with Aia as a pillow, who needed  _ fire. _

Twilight took first watch, gaze following the setting sun with a melancholy expression. Sky would be on third watch, right after Hyrule. 

He didn't like to sleep, but his body gave him no choice in the matter, eyelids closing as his cape tightly swaddled him. 

Someone was shaking Sky's shoulders, waking him from a pleasant dream of music and mice-people. He groaned, faintly hearing Aia screeching from annoyance in the background. The person shook him again. "Come on Sky, get up. We got a portal." 

His eyes cracked open, and Warriors' blurry form came into focus. He was looking over his shoulder, towards where the rest of the group was groggily getting their things together. The night sky was still dark. "We're gonna leave and try to set up camp on the other side. If we can't, then we got a long day ahead of us." 

He groaned again standing and stretching out his arms with a satisfying  _ pop.  _ He didn't have too much to pack, just Fi and his small bag of items. Still, he should probably get that all together.

As he rustled through the bag, the cookies that Malon had made him nearly fell out. One of the little pumpkins had snapped in half, but for the most part the sweets were intact. That was good, he didn't want to return to Malon with a bag of crumbs. He finished packing with a smile. 

"Come on Sky!" Hyrule called from the portal's edge, most of the others had already gone through, having woken up earlier than Sky had. 

"Coming!" He called, pulling Aia after him by the bill and walking straight into the inky black doorway.

Was it just him, or did this portal feel...angrier than the others? Can a portal feel angry? He didn't know. He hoped he'd never have to find out. 

But as he stepped out of it onto a familiar floating island surrounded on all sides by the endless sky, he forgot all about the portal's strange malice. 

It probably wasn't that big a deal, anyways.   
  



	4. Spirit No. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Green has a bad feeling, and Shadow shows up with a warning.

"Green, for the last time, no one is following us." Mask sighed, glancing over his shoulder to where Green shuffled nervously behind. "We're not going to get anywhere if you keep stopping." 

"But I feel like...I don't know what I feel like." He groaned, bringing an olive-skinned hand up to his forehead. "It's like...It's like I'm not alone here, and it's not you who's causing it." 

They'd been walking all afternoon, trying to get back to Hyrule town where, hopefully, they could rest until Mask's magic replenished enough to switch eras again. 

Ever since they'd arrived, Green had complained about the feeling of being-watched-but-not-quite. He'd explained that he could sense _something_ , but didn't know what. Mask felt no such thing. The spirit hadn't felt it back in Hyrule Field, so either something had changed between this Hyrule and the last, or he was hallucinating. With all the shit Mask had seen and experienced, he was betting on the latter. 

The sun disappeared over the horizon, letting the stars peek out from beneath their black blankets. Pretty soon they'd need to make camp, though Mask doubted either of them would actually sleep. 

He'd given up sleeping nearly a year ago, the All-Night Mask was his best friend now. It didn't have too bad of side effects, and who honestly cared if he looked like death itself? If his eyebags had eyebags who was gonna call him on it? All he had to do was toot on his little ocarina and he'd be centuries away!

Mask wasn't sure if Green needed to sleep anymore. He might, but the spirit would probably stay up anyways due to his weird feeling that may or may not have an actual purpose. 

Nevertheless, Green began to start a fire as Mask withheld a yawn, rummaging through his bag for the All-Night Mask. It was 10:49.34 PM, his internal clock told him, nearly time for normal people his age to go to bed. 

He was not normal people his age. 

With a grunt, he pushed his other masks to the side. It wasn't with the others, maybe he'd put it with the transformation masks by accident?

Growing more and more frustrated as his search went on, he took inventory out loud. "Zora mask, Goron mask, Deku mask, Minish mask, Loftwing mask...they're all here, so where...Aha!" He cried in victory as the sought-after mask was found, tucked carefully behind the beak of the green Loftwing mask. Smiling, he slipped the mask over his features, shivering as the envigorating magic filled his veins.

. Green turned around at his slight sound, emerald eyes widening at the sight of the black, cage-like facial covering. They stared at each other a moment, until Mask broke the silence with the driest tone he could muster. "What?" 

Green opened his mouth, changed his mind, then turned away without a word. 

With only the sound of crickets to break the silence, things got awkward fast. Green poked a stick at the dying fire, trying to coax it to burn just a bit longer, while Mask sat against a tree, his sword across his legs. A nice, crisp breeze blew between the maples, causing Mask to shiver and pull his tunic tighter around himself. It was times like these that he debated investing in a pair of pants, or at least a new tunic -a nice and thick one, without the dozens of shoddily sewn patches all over it. 

Green didn't seem to notice the temperature, staring down at the sword he was bound to, watching as the firelight refracted in the emerald. 

Bored, Mask settled back against the tree with a sigh, falling back into an old habit he'd picked up from his time in Termina: counting down the clock under his breath. "Night of the final day, 2.372 hours remain." He mumbled, eyes turned up towards the emerging stars. "Night of the final day, 2.365 hours remain." 

He continued along that vein, counting down from two hours, to one hour, to half an hour, until his internal clock struck midnight and his magic finally thrummed. The bar was full, they could leave if they wanted to. 

A gasp interrupted him just as he had started over with the dawn of the first day, Green sitting up straight suddenly. "It's gone! The feeling's gone!" 

"Huh?" Mask grunted, his back popping as he stretched it. 

"I don't feel watched anymo- oh wait, nevermind. There it is again." The spirit sighed, slouching once again by the smouldering embers. "It's different now though, it feels...closer? Stronger? Less passive? I don't know."

"That's rough." He chuckled, cracking each of his knuckles individually as he got to his feet. 

"It's familiar though, like I've felt it before." 

"I'd assume so, you've only been feeling it since we got here." 

"This is different though!" 

"Mmhmm." Mask yawned despite the cage on his face, maybe it was time he'd _actually_ slept for once. Maybe. Not now. 

Green frowned, crossing his arms. "It _is._ " 

"I never said it wasn't!" 

"You implied it!" 

"I really didn't." 

A new voice chuckled from the bushes, and instantly Mask was on his feet, one hand on his sword and the other on the ocarina. "This is cute." The voice commented, and Green joined Mask in his defencive stance. "Oh don't be like that, Green Bean, it's me!" 

" _And who would that be_?" Green yelled, looking increasingly more distressed as time went on. Mask's grip tightened on his sword, removing the cage from his face with a scowl. This person apparently knew Green, which meant they definitely couldn't kill him. The timeline would break if they did, so running would be their best option if they can't talk their way out. 

"Oh, you wound me so." The voice gasped, as a figure appeared from the foliage. "Here I thought you'd remember me!"

Green's jaw dropped as Mask's eyes widened. 

Now, Mask had never met Shadow Link, but he knew enough to determine that he was supposed to be _dead_ by this time. Not here, leaning against a tree, sporting the exact same sword spirit aesthetic that Green wore.

Mask tried not to freak out over the timeline implications. He was breaking _so many rules_ right now.

When he said an exact resemblance, he meant _exact._ The only differences lay in the color palate. Where Green had -well- green, Shadow flashed different Indigo hues, some more blue or more purple than others, and some looking almost black in places. Other than that, they were basically twins. He was even missing his shoulders and hips! 

Briefly, Mask wondered if the other aspects of the Hero of the Four Sword also looked like this, but quickly dismissed the thought. He would find out soon enough. 

Shadow's grin faltered a moment as neither of them gave a satisfactory reply to his dramatic entrance. "...So I'm going to take your stunned silence as an avid exclamation of joy at my wellbeing and leave it at that." 

Green blinked, shaking his head slowly. "Wh- Shadow you're _dead!_ You've _been dead_ for nearly three years now!" 

"Well," Mask gave Green a side-look, eyebrow raised. "In his defence, you're dead too." 

" _Not helpful."_ Green hissed. 

"Just thought I'd put it out there." He shrugged, watching Shadow try to stifle his laughter behind his hand. "So," he shuffled on his feet. "What brings you here?" 

"Can't I just spend time with my favorite Green Bean?" The darker spirit smirked, "Must I have a reason?" 

Mask had played this game before, and resurrected friends _always_ have a reason for showing up. They were never good ones, either, always prophesies of impending doom. It was getting quite old. 

His face must have betrayed his thoughts, as Shadow visibly deflated. "Guess so. You're right, though. I do have a reason, a pretty damn good one, too." 

"Shadow-" Green's countenance showed concern, but Mask shushed him with a finger. Now was not the time to get emotional. 

"Let him speak, Green. This could be important." 

At his friend's nod, Shadow continued. "So you've probably already figured out about the whole 'split over time and space' thing, right?" 

They nodded, both wearing similar expressions of confusion and -in Mask's case- dread. He'd already known this, but having his suspicions confirmed was still jarring. 

"Yeah, well, me and Vio got dropped in the same place. We couldn't do much, 'cuz swords can't move, so we just kinda waited until someone found us." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And now I gotta hurry this up before he figures out I'm here." 

"...He?" Green whispered, eyes wide.

"Dark Link." Shadow growled, hands clenching into fists. "He awakened me, and threatened to break Vio's sword if I didn't obey him." 

Mask sighed, defeated, and sheathed his sword, walking over to pack his things. If Dink was involved -which he definitely was- then, if he could kill him, this could be his ticket home. "What are you supposed to do?" 

"Well," Shadow chuckled and pointed to Green. "I'm supposed to find the other colors and bring them to him, so if you could find them before I do, that would be lovely." 

As the spirit began to fade from sight, his message delivered, Green grabbed his arm. "Wait! How do we do that?" 

Shadow grinned. "Just follow your gut. I'll be hanging around a bit longer in this time under the guise of looking for you, then I'm gonna go and hopefully fail to grab Blue from the bottom of a lake. So try to leave as fast as possible." 

With that, he vanished. 


	5. Bad Tidings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky and his family are reunited, and the heroes meet their second part of Four. Warnings are given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite happy with this one, but idk how to improve it. Feel free to put suggestions in the comments, just please be civil about it.

The crystal sky stretched as far as the eye could see, the great grey cloud barrier barely even a memory in the face of all that blue. Vines and branches twisted around their feet, a grounding force even if they were almost a mile above the ground. A few of them nearly slipped, but the others were able to catch them before they plummeted from the Great Tree's canopy. 

Sky took a breath, the crisp morning air blowing all the fatigue from his system. It was good to be home. The late night all forgotten, a smile split his face. "Okay guys, we're back in Faron Woods. A day's walk and we'll be at the village." 

"What's with this?" Wind grumbled, back pressed against the trunk as he shimmed across the branch. "We spend almost a year with no sign of coming to this era, then _boom,_ twice in four months." He paused for a moment, then added hastily: "Not that I'm complaining, or anything. Far from it actually, I just-"

"Maybe we still gotta do something here?" Hyrule shrugged as he interrupted the sailor, riding atop Legend's shoulders (he tripped twice before they'd even made it to the trunk, so Legend scooped him up for safekeeping) and petting the veteran's messy pinkish-blonde locks in boredom. 

"Whatever it is, it better be quick." Warriors growled, stepping carefully across the branches. "after what happened last time, I'm not thrilled to be back. No offence Sky." 

He shrugged. "None taken." 

Aia chirped in annoyance, having to duck in order to avoid the numerous branches that threatened to swat her. The foliage was too thick up here for a bird of her size to navigate, leaving her grounded and extremely grumpy about it. 

The others all nodded in agreement, and Sky found himself joining in. It wasn't that he didn't want to be home, quite the opposite, but the last time they showed up here didn't go so well (Yellow can attest to that) and he _really_ didn't want that to become a pattern. 

"So, how do we get down?" Twilight asked after a moment, peering over the edge and down to the normal-sized treetops below. 

Recognising Sky's expression, Wild and Wind's faces both broke out into huge grins. Aia clicked her beak impatiently as the others still waited for an answer. He cleared his throat. "Well...I guess we gotta just...you know…" he trailed off, waving his arm over the edge and unsure of how to word something that should be so obvious. 

He was met with blank stares. "Do what?" Prompted Time with a raised eyebrow. Were they really that clueless?

"This!" Wild cried before he could answer, sprinting past Sky and hurling himself off of the giant tree's limb. A few seconds later, the telltale fwoosh of his paraglider alerted them all to his wellbeing. Wind enthusiastically followed his example, whooping in glee as his deku leaf caught air. Yellow squealed in delight as they lost altitude, glowing brightly from his scabbard.

All eyes turned to Sky, gazes pleading yet resigned (with the exception of Time, who had his "disappointed dad look" down pat). Aia ruffled her feathers, excitement growing as he smiled sweetly. "Sorry guys." Before Warriors could grab him, he rolled back on his heels and fell backwards through the canopy, away from his friends' dismayed cries. He waited a few seconds to enjoy the wind in his hair, then put his fingers to his mouth and blew. 

A screech from above, and suddenly feathers broke his fall. 

Aia crowed loudly, swooping upwards towards the endless, starry sky. She flipped and twirled in the air, obviously relishing in Wind and Wild's indignant boos from where they now stood on the ground, annoyed at being outshone by a bird (as if they could even hope to outfly a Loftwing). Sky laughed out loud from atop her back, soaking in the moonlight. 

"We get it! She's awesome!" Legend yelled from the tree, "Now can she _get us down from here?"_

"Give me a sec!" Sky answered, patting his soulmate's head fondly. "Okay girl, that's enough showing off for now." 

Aia huffed, but tilted her wing downwards and swooped around the tree, gaining altitude slowly until she flew above the heroes' heads. Extending her talons, she nabbed Hyrule from Legend's shoulders, carrying the traveler off the branch and dragging the veteran along with them. Legend screamed, dangling precariously from his equally terrified protégé's legs. After a few spite-fueled loop-de-loops, she dropped them unceremoniously into the dirt beside Wild and Wind, who laughed at their expense. 

Several less eventful trips later, they were all safely lowered to the forest floor and ready to get going. Twilight and Wild helped Time struggle to his feet, his armor a heavy burden in this scenario. Wind and Warriors poked fun at the veteran as Hyrule watched with barely-hidden guilty amusement. Sky patted Aia's beak. "Thanks, you can go have fun now if you want. 

The bird cooed, pressing her bill against his cheek and shaking her head. It seemed she was going to stay with them a bit longer, though Sky had no idea why. 

Smile dancing on his lips, Sky patted her again and spun on his heel, beckoning his friends forward and interrupting Legend mid-complaint. "Come on guys! The town's this way!" He called, cape blowing behind him in the breeze. 

Sky always liked walking through Faron Woods. Nothing there could really hurt him badly enough to warrant caution, and the Kikiwis were _adorable_ should he be able to find one. There was so much to discover hidden in the grass, rupees and bomb flowers and sometimes even other treasures. New creatures were always there to discover, and new places there to explore. 

As they finally found their way to the beaten path, he wondered how long it would take for Hylians to find what would later become the Lost Woods. Do Time's Kokiri exist already? What about those mouse-people Four used to tell stories about? Exploring the forest was so much more thrilling now that he knew what could be there. 

Wild snapped a picture of a beetle with his slate, the stars in his eyes rivaling real ones as Twilight readied a bottle and Time watched with a barely hidden eagerness. Warriors made a face at the squirming insect and Legend teased him for it, Hyrule laughing from back atop the veteran's shoulders -the traveler's new favorite spot. 

There was a strange sadness, too, that permeated the air all throughout the forest. Yes, there was knowledge of what was to come, but there was also the undeniable dread that came with knowing what would eventually not exist. 

For example, the cute Kikiwi were long gone by the time the next hero came along, as well as hundreds of species of trees, bushes, and flowers that Sky took for granted. The technology that allowed Skyloft running water and toilets was completely unheard of in every other era save perhaps Wild's, and nearly every Skyloftian tradition had been rendered obsolete. 

Wind and Yellow cheered up ahead, calling Wild and Hyrule to take a picture of a butterfly that had landed in his hair. 

Sky's heart clenched as Aia snapped up the beautiful bug, much to Wind's dismay. All of those examples couldn't even _compare_ to the loss of the _Loftwings_. It saddened him to know the world might never again know true majesty. 

Aia choked on the butterfly, coughing and hacking wildly until the soggy insect was dislodged. 

Truly majestic.

Long ago, Sky would have drowned in his guilt at just the thought of it all, but it was better now. _He_ was better now. Not completely immune to it, the dull ache in his chest could attest to that, but he wasn't being smothered anymore, and that was a major improvement.

Besides, he had no sway over nature. Those species were probably doomed before he'd ever gotten cursed, and as much as it hurt to think about, he shouldn't blame himself. 

Legend dared to laugh at Aia's predicament, and swiftly found himself hatless and chasing a giant bird down the pathway. Wild and Wind joined in the game of keep-away, tossing the blue fabric back and forth above the veteran's head. 

Sky, Twilight, and Warriors engaged in banter as the trees grew more familiar, while Time listened fondly, occasionally chuckling when one of them were particularly witty. 

A cry of dismay echoed from up ahead as the trees finally broke to reveal the tiny town, Aia -having realized that the trees constraining her were gone- snapped up Legend's hat in her beak and took to the sky. She didn't go too far, landing on the roof of Sky's house and dangling it just out of the veteran's reach, obviously relishing in his humiliation. That's what he got for laughing at a loftwing.

_He should've seen it coming_ , Sky thought with a smirk, picking up his pace slightly. So what if he was excited? He wanted to see his little girl! And his wife, of course, can't forget the wife. 

Clearly, the wife did not forget him. The group had only barely taken their first steps onto the only cobbled road in the town when Sky found himself knocked to the floor and pinned by the full weight of goddess incarnate on his chest. Warriors and Twilight covered Hyrule and Wind's eyes as they shared a long and happy kiss. "Get a room!" Legend called from up ahead, laughing as the sailor pulled down Warriors' hand and bit it hard. 

Sky quickly stole another one as Sun rolled off of him and onto the floor with a giggle. He took Time's offered hand and hoisted himself up, pointedly ignoring Aia's suggestive cooing and helping his lady to her feet. "So I take it you missed me?" He smirked as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her forehead into his shoulder. 

"Every day." She exhaled, pulling away with a laugh. "Oh! You'll never guess what happened! Come, you need to see this!" 

She intertwined their fingers, pulling him along after her. The group, having nowhere else to go, followed them a little ways behind. Most held nothing but mirth in their eyes, but a couple (namely, Time and Wild) held a certain fondness in their face that Sky couldn't yet place. 

Aia bid them goodbye with a sharp caw, flapping her wings to join where Resonance and Dart called her to the clouds. The three birds circled the town a few times, before flying off to do whatever they did in their free time. Sky smiled, good for her. 

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" He asked, marveling at all the progress that the tiny town had made in his absence.

"Nope. You gotta see for yourself." Sun beamed back at him, perfect teeth just as blinding as her namesake. 

He let her pull him a bit farther past the newly built potions shop where Luv waved to them from her front porch. As the others made to pass her as well, Hyrule and Wild broke away and started up a conversation about her ingredients. Twilight and Legend stayed behind to supervise, while Warriors and Time tried to stop Wind from climbing the bird statue in the center of town. 

Sun pulled him onwards, either unaware or simply uncaring about their lost entourage. A thought struck him as they past the little temple where Fi used to rest and headed out to Gaepora's humble cottage on the outskirts of town, closest to the new castle construction site. 

"My Sun?" 

"Yes, my Sky?" 

"Where is our Little Star?" He asked, using the nickname they had created for her nearly four months prior. 

Sun did not respond, merely humming knowingly through her smile. 

"Sun?" He repeated, " _Sun where is Zelda_?"

"You'll see!" She sang, speeding up her pace into a full run. "We're almost there!" 

They were, actually, only a few minutes away. That was good, since Sky was getting restless. Sun wasn't telling him something and he _hoped to Hylia_ that it was a good thing. 

Gaepora's cabin was small, as per his request, but no less homey than any of the other buildings in the town. The birch logs that made up the walls were interlocked nicely, and the redish shutters and door introduced a cozy feel that was only accentuated by the large bed of multicolored tulips that surrounded the perimeter. Gaepora's loud, full laughter could be heard from inside, along with the happy squealing of a baby. Sky's baby. His Little Star. 

There was also an unknown voice, who's soft chuckles were almost smothered by the headmaster's hearty guffaws. A spark of distrust ignited in Sky's gut. He knew everyone from Skyloft, and no one sounded quite like that. It was young, childish, with a certain undertone that was _so familiar_ yet _so foreign_ at the same time. 

His eyes ask Sun a silent question, but she looks just as confused. With a shrug, she placed her hand on the painted wood and pushed the door open with a creak. 

As expected, Gaepora was the first figure Sky recognised, as he was easily the largest one in the room. The headmaster sat on the floor with Little Star in front of him, gently holding the baby to sit upright. Occasionally, he would remove his hands, letting the child sit up on her own for a few seconds before replacing them at her sides. 

"Try her feet again." The unknown voice chuckled, as Sun opened the door completely. 

Sky blinked. There was a sword spirit in the living room. 

The dark colored spirit grinned as Gaepora gently tickled Little Star's toes, provoking a high pitched squeal and several tiny kicks from the little babe. 

The first thing Sky noticed was the color. Shades of indigo mixed with purple and dark blue swirled on his tunic, his black hair shining with the same color wherever the light hit. The second, was his apparent lack of shoulders or hips. His arms and legs floated detached from his torso as if by magic, the gemstone on his chest glowing with a faint light.

Sky was instantly suspicious of him. There were no other sword spirits besides himself and Four, as far as he knew, and this was _definitely_ not Four. The dark color palate paired with the un-Four-like sly smirk proved it. 

Sun strode inside, face shining but eyes hard. "Father! So nice to see you two getting along! Now, who is this?" 

Sky followed her across the threshold, not unaware of the newcomer's gaze glued to his own. The baby on the floor squealed happily, falling forwards and crawling - _crawling-_ to her papa's feet. He picked her up, a small smile dancing on his lips as he broke eye contact and held her up to his face. She grabbed his nose, blowing a little raspberry and kicking her chubby legs into his chest. 

"Hello my Little Star! Are you having fun with Grandpa?" His voice gained a higher pitch, just as it did any time he spoke with young children. Except Wind. Wind would break his kneecaps if he heard any ounce of baby voice directed towards him, and Sky liked his knees intact. 

Zelda helped her father to his feet, the man grunting as his old bones creaked. "Oh ho! We certainly are! Though, the little one has energy far surpassing my own, I'm afraid." He stretched and clapped a hand on the newcomer's back. "As for Shadow here, he just kind of showed up looking for you, Link, so I asked him to stay for tea." 

Sky smirked. "Staying for tea" was Gaepora's special way of staking out potential threats undetected. After all, no one would expect the kind old man with tea and cookies to be waiting with a sword behind his back. All those years training knights had to have _some_ payoff. 

"You were looking for me?" Sky asked, handing little Zelda off to Sun and nodding at her. His wife smiled, bid her father goodbye, thanked him for babysitting while she was busy, and swiftly left to alert the others of his situation. She knew just what to do, without him having to say anything. Man, he loved her. 

"Yeah, the name's Shadow. I was hoping to speak with you in private sometime soon, since I don't have long before I gotta skedaddle again." The spirit -Shadow- stood, brushing off his tunic and shaking Gaepora's hand. "Thank you for the hospitality, Sir, and for the cookies. They were wonderful." 

"Oh, don't mention it," the headmaster laughed, "you seem like a nice lad, come back any time." 

Okay, so Gaepora was giving him the clear. Interesting. 

Sky held the door open for Shadow, watching as the spirit gave one last wave over his shoulder. "I like him." He hummed. "He's a nice guy. Bakes good cookies, too." 

"Yeah, Gaepora has that effect on people." Sky looked over his shoulder at the short spirit, and shook off the familiar feeling he got with the motion. "Would you mind if my friends are here when we talk?" 

"The other heroes? Yeah sure, they'll find out eventually anyways." Shadow shrugged his nonexistent shoulders with a grunt. "Call 'em over. I don't care."

Moments later, the group of heroes bounded around the corner, voices clamoring to be heard above each other's arguing. The only ones silent were Time and -surprisingly- Wind. Even Yellow yelled shrilly over the noise, asking what was happening. 

Upon spotting Shadow, Warriors stopped at the front, causing Wild, Twilight, and Hyrule to run into his back. The two spirits watched with amusement as the heroes scrambled back to their feet and leveled the newcomer with a suspicious glare. 

Time cleared his throat, silencing the remaining conversations instantly. "Sun told us that you'd found a new spirit." 

"Yup," Sky nodded with a blank face, gesturing towards Shadow, who gave an exaggerated bow. "This is Shadow. He said he wanted to talk to us." 

Shadow opened his mouth to speak, a snarky grin on his face, but was interrupted before he could utter a syllable. 

" _Indigo?"_ Yellow's voice was small and quiet, almost lost under the sounds of the town behind them. " _Indigo here?"_

Shadow froze, smile quickly growing forced, and cursed under his breath. Sky raised an eyebrow. Clearly, they were missing something. One deep breath later, he had his easygoing aura back in place. "Yeah, Indigo's here. Not for long though, got some errands to run." 

Sky and Warriors shared a look. Neither of them had missed Shadow's little slip-up. 

" _Where you go? We together then not!"_

Wind gasped. "You were the one who left Yellow alone!"

Hyrule growled, taking a step forwards. "How dare you!" 

The spirit looked affronted as both the sailor and traveler rounded on him. "Wait I-" 

"Get him!" Wind cried, Yellow yelling affirmative as both of the children charged. 

Sky had to stifle a giggle as the spirit screamed, the dual children serving him his butt on a silver platter. It was the simple things in life that he cherished. 

Twilight sighed and stepped forwards, grabbing both kids by the back of their shirts and pulling them off the ground. Hyrule pouted, hanging from his armpits as Wind squirmed in his grasp and screamed profanities. Yellow didn't seem to know what was happening, but cheered the sailor on regardless. 

Shadow shot Sky -still trying to hide his amusement- a glare. "Thanks for the help." He quipped, before brushing off his tunic and crossing his arms. "If you two are quite done, I have something you might want to hear." He cleared his throat. "You are all looking for Link, right? The Hero of the Four Sword?" 

Time's eyes narrowed. "You know him?" 

Shadow scoffed, chuckling and shaking his head. " _Know him,_ man I'm a _part_ of him. You get Yellow out of that sword and he'll look just like me!" 

"Funny, then, that Shadow isn't a color." Warriors snarled, sword halfway unsheathed. "Yellow told us that all his brothers were named after colors." 

The spirit laughed, patting his own blade fondly. "Haven't you been listening? Yellow _just_ said my name was Indigo, and that is very much a fucking color." He shook his head. "Whatever, I don't have time for this. I've wasted enough as it is." 

And just like that, all traces of his friendly attitude were gone. As if they'd never existed in the first place. Sky shivered, being able to switch faces on a dime was not usually an attribute of an ally. Just from looking around, he could tell the others felt the same. Even Yellow's glowing had dimmed into a nervous shine. 

Shadow's pupil-less eyes were hard and narrowed, his former grin transfigured into a small scowl. "I got some news for you, as well as a warning." His voice was matter-of-fact, leaving no room for argument or interruption. "There's a Four Sword at the bottom of that lake over there. You need to get it before I do, but be careful, the dragon isn't herself at the moment. You can blame Dink for that." 

Indigo eyes met Sky's golden ones, holding a certain pity that he couldn't quite place. "I wish you luck, and I apologize in advance for what you'll find." 

Sky swallowed dryly, afraid of the many implications that simple sentence held. 

Breaking Sky from his thoughts, Legend pushed his way to the front, looming over Shadow menacingly. "Now what is that supposed to mean? You need to explain-" the veteran made to grab the spirit's arm, but found Shadow wasn't there any longer. 

The spirit's voice called from above, as they all raised their eyes to meet Shadow's, who floated above their heads with a remorseful smile. "Sorry Pinkie, can't do that. I'm sure you'll figure it out. And Yellow?" The sword at Wind's side chimed uneasily, and Shadow sighed. "Stay away from me, okay? I don't want you to get hurt." 

The spirit waved, his form rapidly dissipating into the darkness cast from behind a tree. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I got some Green Beans to fry. Do me a favor and get that cookie recepe from Gaepora, would you?" 

He was gone before Sky could answer. 

The tree that Shadow had disappeared into shook as Legend kicked its base, a string of curses punctuating his abuse. Hyrule sat down right there where he stood, head in his hands and groaning. Wind decided to try and out-curse the veteran, putting his pirate heritage to good use. Yellow was silent as Warriors threw his hands up and stalked away, Wild followed soon after and Time tailed close behind to try and run damage control. 

Sky hadn't moved from his spot, deep in thought. He flinched as someone set their hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked, face soft in concern. 

"Yeah, just...just thinking." He gave the rancher a shaky smile. "I won't lie, I'm a bit worried now. Happy, but worried." 

Twilight patted his shoulder. "Yeah, that's understandable." A beat. "We should probably go get whoever's in the lake, though." 

Sky laughed, turning his gaze upwards once again to where, high above, three loftwings circled in the clouds. Free as birds. "In the morning." He decided. "We all need some time off, I think, and there's only a few hours before sunset." 

"Come on Sky," Twilight leveled him with a knowing look. "Just admit you want to spend time with Sun and little Zelda. We won't judge." 

"Okay," He chuckled, "I want to spend some time with my family before my next mental breakdown." 

"Not quite what I had in mind but I'll take it!" The rancher laughed. "Now I gotta go make sure Wild hasn't burned down anything, wanna come with?" 

"Sure, I'll help." Sky grinned. "Hylia knows you'll need it." 

"Ugh, don't jinx it." 

"Too late." 

All they had to do was follow Warrior's screams. 

Much later, once they had managed to coralle Wild back into the house, Sky gently tucked his daughter into bed and the heroes all somehow managed to settle down in the middle of Sky's newly rebuilt living room. It was a long process, filled with jabs and jokes that took the mind off of all the day's events, but eventually fatigue won over the hearts of every one of them and they fell peacefully into a deep slumber. 

Hours after every last hero had fallen asleep, the Four Sword pulsed faintly with an ethereal light, halfway covered by a stray blanket. It blinked rapidly in a way not unlike a gossip stone would when it made a long-distance call. 

Far off in the distance, a dragon roared. 


	6. In the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mask and Green traverse the beginnings of the Shadow Temple, looking for a certain Shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last few chapters have been an even switch between POVs. This probably won't be the case for the next couple. I have one last semi-important chapter in Mask's POV to wrap up the Finding Shadow Arc, followed by several Sky chapters to finish up Dragon Arc One. We'll probably continually break the pattern near the ends of sections, but get back into it between them. 
> 
> I'll always have a couple of semi-filler chapters between major events ;) these next Mask chapters fall into that category. I'll let you all know when we start the next arc.

"Anything yet?" Mask asked with half-lidded eyes, utterly and totally bored. They'd been wandering around this Hyrule for hours, waiting for Green's strange feeling to lead them back to Shadow. 

They had decided last night to find the indigo spirit again, to both try and gain more information and to hopefully convince him to "pull a Vio," as Green put it. Shadow had made it very clear that he was not following Dink under his own violation, so they were hoping to talk some sense into him upon their second meeting. It might not be the smartest of decisions, but Shadow was the only lead they had at the moment. 

First, of course, they had to actually find him. 

At this point, Mask was considering speeding up time a little bit, just to get it over with. Twice now, he'd held himself back. 

Make that three times. 

"No, nothing." Green sighed, arms slumping lower with the absence of shoulders. "Should we try heading west this time?" 

"Sure, whatever." 

Even without bending spacetime, they had sped up their traveling considerably over the last hour once Mask remembered that _oh wait, he has songs that teleport_ _over long distances._ Even if the temples of his time hadn't technically been built yet, the sites were still regarded as "holy" by his ocarina, and thus were still eligible for teleportation. 

He'd already played the Prelude of Light and the Serenade of Water so they could search the North and South, and the Requirem of Spirit for the East. He'd refused to play the Minuet of Forest despite how often Green pushed, not ready to face Saria in the Lost Woods just yet. He wasn't even sure he  _ could _ face Saria without starting a paradox, so he really shouldn't risk it. 

Or at least, that's how he justified it. Maybe he was just a coward after all. 

Currently, they stood at the foot of what would eventually be known as The Colossus, harsh winds from a common sandstorm flinging stinging dust at them from every angle. Mask unclipped the blue clay instrument from his belt once again, spitting dirt from his mouth so he could play. "Let's get out of this godforsaken wasteland." 

"Agreed." Green grimaced, shielding his eyes from the onslaught of tiny daggers. 

Mask grunted, turning the ocarina over in his hands. Now he just needed to decide which song to play. He had several located in the West to choose from. Okay, two, but still. He liked the Bolereo of Fire and Nocturne of Shadow equally (that is, not at all, fuck Bongo Bongo especially), but something told him Green wouldn't take too kindly to being broiled alive in an active volcano. 

Besides, that little floating rock in the lava might not even exist yet. Best not take any chances. 

"Grab on." He commanded, putting the ocarina to his chapped lips. Green linked their arms as the first minor chord struck true, the world blurring and warping as the song continued. 

As the scenery came back into focus, Mask took a short moment to enjoy the absence of sand. Green laughed and shook out his hair, sending a small cascade of dust falling into the grass. 

The small cliff jutted out above the graveyard, where only three lonely stones stood in memory of what once was -or rather, what was soon to be. The gravekeeper's shack was only a lean-to at this point, a tent barely standing against the rocky wall. If he squinted, Mask could make out the beginnings of Kakariko Village in the distance. Only two houses -including what he recognised as the House of Skulltula- were fully built as of yet, though several white-haired Shikah meandered through the dirt roads, having quiet conversations that couldn't be heard from this distance. 

"Wait,” Green paused, “I'm feeling something...What's over there?" he shook Mask's shoulder, pointing down into the cave where eventually a temple would be built into the rock. 

He blinked. Where eventually, the  _ Shadow Temple _ would be built into the rock. 

"Oh my god." 

"What?" Green's brow furrowed in confusion. "Is something wrong?" 

"No…" Mask's face fell into his hands. "I'm so stupid." 

"I'll be the judge of that." The spirit frowned, tugging Mask towards the opening. "You still haven't told me what was over here." 

"I could have saved  _ so much time _ !" He groaned, clipping his ocarina back to his belt. He wouldn't need to use it for a while. 

"Last I checked, we had all the time in the world." Mask couldn't see Green's face, but the spirit's smirk was practically audible. "Now, care to explain  _ why _ you think you're an idiot?"

"We are looking for Shadow in the Shadow Temple." He deadpanned, digging his heels into the dirt to slow them down. He had no particular reason, he just wanted to be annoying. He never got to be annoying anymore, and he rather missed it. 

Green paused and turned back to him with a raised eyebrow, yanking on his arm all the harder. "Yup, that'll do it. At least we know he's definitely here now. With a name like that, there's  _ no way _ Shadow will pass this place up." 

Mask snickered, body going limp as Green dragged him. 

"He's a pain in the neck sometimes, sure." Green glanced down with a glint of something indescribable in his emerald eyes. "But do you know who  _ else  _ is a pain in the neck?" 

"No clue." Mask hummed, yanking himself from the spirit’s grip and speeding ahead. Man, he'd missed being a little shit.

Green, for all his sword-spirit-strength, hadn't managed to pull him very far into the cave. They had barely passed the entrance when Mask pulled forwards. A small, flat rock sat in the middle of the floor where eventually the sign of the triforce would be carved. Mining and masonry tools sat half-hazardly in the corner, thrown there by lazy workers eager for any excuse to leave. Only one unlit torch stood next to the rock, a sad replacement for the dozens that were soon to come. 

Mask didn't even need to use Din's Fire to light it, simply pulling out a fire arrow and tapping the tip to the fuel. The torch burst into flames, tendrils of warm light gently licking the air above it. 

Was it just him? Or did the air smell like cinnamon. He inhaled, eyes widening as the sweet smell of spices blessed his nostrils. Did someone  _ scent  _ the  _ torch? _ That was...actually pretty clever. It sounded like something Ravio would do, just to sell it to suckers for twice the market price. As if Mask would ever fall for that sort of scam again.

...it did smell good though…

He'd have to talk to Ravio later. 

Green sniffed the air and scowled. So, he's not a fan of cinnamon. Pity. Mask had thought they could've been friends. 

The temple door, lacking the intricate carvings that would soon adorn it, rumbled as it opened. It was clearly a work in progress, grinding on the ground as the two boulders shifted. Such flaws would be hammered out with time. 

Water dripped onto Mask's head from above, dampening his ponytail and dripping down his cheek. The corridor was just as damp and dingy as he remembered, moreso now that there were no carvings or tapestries on the walls to distract him. An overturned bucket sat in a puddle of murky liquid that had probably been water once upon a time. Their footsteps echoed as they pressed forwards through the spider -regular, not skulltula- infested hallway and towards the equally dirty first puzzle room. None of the illusions had been put in place yet, leaving all the real doorways wide open and all the fake ones obvious. 

A hastily crafted wooden sign greeted them at the first archway, the semi-fresh paint printing "HAUNTED, WORK POSTPONED UNTIL PRIEST ARRIVES" in brilliant bold lettering. 

Green snickered. "We're definitely in the right place." 

A small smirk tugged at Mask's lips as he pulled the sign up from the crack between the tiles and lay it to the side. "Funny, I didn't know I was a priest. If I did I'd have resigned by now." 

They shared a good natured chuckle at their own antics, and continued further into the temple. Green clung tightly to Mask as he equipped his hover boots and ran across the gaping chasm into the next corridor. The tongue of the statue hadn't quite been carved yet, so he landed with great difficulty on the hard slab of granite. After a terrifying moment where he nearly lost his balance, they took a moment to catch their breaths and continued on. 

Someone giggled from the darkness, and both went on high alert. This was too familiar. Even knowing who was giggling, Mask didn't like it one bit. 

Surprisingly, and thankfully, there weren't that many monsters blocking their way. A few keese here and a few bubbles there, but all in all pretty uneventful. Either way, keese or not, Mask was adamant that none of them were to be hurt. Not from any sort of empathy for the creatures, oh no, he just didn’t want to mess up his own adventure by killing any monster prematurely. 

"Come on Mask, it's a  _ keese!  _ If I don't kill it, then it'll just keep coming back for us!" Green complained, leaning against one of the inactive guillotines and glaring up at the offending bat as Mask tried to decide whether he could make the jump between platforms without his boots. He reckoned he could, but he'd need a running start. And probably the bunny hood. 

He huffed, crossing his arms and eying the gap once again. The platforms weren't illusioned quite yet, so he could clearly see where they were wobbling along their tracks. "I told you, no killing monsters. We run and we hide, we wound if necessary, but we do  _ not  _ kill. I have no idea how a missing monster would affect the timestream, and I don't want to find out." 

Green gave him a strange look, "Why are you so worried about the timeline anyways? You still have a few hundred years before your adventure starts, so these keese would be dead either way." 

Mask blinked. As much as he hated to admit it, the spirit was right. He wouldn't even be born for another few centuries, and most monsters' lifespan was significantly less than that. As long as he didn't go challenging bosses, then, theoretically, he could kill any monster he came across. He wouldn't lie, it was tempting. "I'll think about it, but for now, no killing." 

Ignoring his companion’s grumbling, Mask backed up and leaped over the edge. Sailing over the gap, he might as well have been using his ocarina for how slow time was crawling. The moment was shattered as his fingers barely caught the edge of the platform, dropping a cascade of tiny pebbles into the bottomless pit below and sending his heart rate through the atmosphere. Gasping for air, he pulled himself up with a grunt. "There we go."

The darkness cackled at Green's annoyed expression, the spirit jumping easily over the gap and landing lightly on his feet. The other hero smirked at him, turning with a flourish and doing the same thing to the next platform. Shakily getting to his feet, Mask grumbled under his breath. Stupid spirits and their stupid magic, hopping over the stupid hole.  _ He _ could've been a cool sword too, but  _ noooo _ Hylia wasn't done with him just yet. The bitch just had to have a fairy stationed nearby, didn't she. 

Shaking his head, he halted that train of thought where it stood. As much as it would’ve been nice to have had his story end right then, that specific fairy was there for a reason, and it did no good to speak ill of the dead. 

Mask jumped again, and made it easily this time. Too bad Green was already at the door, taunting him. A challenging smirk danced across his face. With a shout, he ran after the spirit. 

The small talk was painfully awkward from then on, but slowly got more relaxed as they progressed further. By the time they finally boarded the little dinghy standing in place of the great ghost ship, they were laughing at each other like old pals. 

The shadows grumbled in jealousy, but Mask couldn't hear it over Green's latest ghost pun. 

The boss room wasn't locked, it couldn't have been if it wanted to, seeing as it didn't have a door. Mask stared up at the archway far above his head with a sigh. "This was probably the easiest dungeon run I've ever experienced."

"Well I'm not complaining." Green shrugged, stopping short in front of the massive pit where Bongo Bongo would eventually lie sealed. "Let me guess. We need to jump down." 

Mask didn't answer, scanning the half-finished room for anything out of place. Besides the abandoned construction equipment and more of those strangely scented torches, there was nothing of note. 

"Well, if we-" Mask looked back, but Green was gone. Leaning over the edge, he could barely make out a tiny emerald speck at the bottom, waving to him. He shrugged. There was nothing better to do up here, so he allowed himself to topple over the edge. 

Air whistled past his ears, the ground quickly approaching as he grinned. His heart thumped in his chest and he laughed, high off the adrenaline. Man, he’d missed this so much. Tucking into a roll as he hit the bottom, he popped up and brushed himself off, sharing an excited look with his friend. It seemed Green wasn't unaffected by the rush either, if his wide eyes were anything to go by. 

There was no giant bongo to fight upon (which was a win in Mask's book) and the acid pool hadn't formed yet either, leaving only a wide, stone, circular cavern to house their attacks. A couple shallow puddles of water had formed from where the unlucky droplets had fallen from the ceiling, wetting the handles of the various digging tools that lay scattered across the rock. So far he was liking this battleground. It was certainly one of the easier ones he'd used. 

Mask blinked. It was dark. Very dark. The only light came from above, shining a dim spotlight into the center of the room where he now stood. If he moved at all, he’d be fighting blind. He glanced to the right, but Green didn't seem to be having any problems with the lighting. Yet another perk of being resurrected. 

"You think he's here?" Green broke the silence, knuckles white on the hilt of his sword. 

"Has to be." Mask unsheathed his own, "remember what we're doing?" 

The spirit nodded. "Subduing him, then negotiating." His eyes swept the room, letting off a soft emerald glow in the darkness. 

Said darkness chuckled. "As if you had anything to give me worth more than what he's taken." The voice echoed around the room, coming from nowhere yet everywhere at once. Mask's grip tightened. This wasn't good. He was too powerful down here in the low light. "Besides," the slightly bitter voice continued, "didn't I tell you to go away?" 

"You did." Confirmed Green with a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, both of us are very bad at following orders. I'm sure you understand." 

" _ Clearly _ ." Spat the darkness, coiling angrily around the cavern. A drip of water fell from the ceiling and hit one of the pools with a plink. For a moment, the dim light from above reflected from the water, revealing a familiar dark figure floating ominously in the shadows. Red eyes flashed, and he was gone. "Is there a reason you came? Or do you just have a death wish. I'd really hate to have to kill you, hence the earlier ignored warning." 

Mask curled his fingers around a little pouch clipped to his belt. He was going to need these. 

"No?" The darkness sighed at the lack of an answer. "Fine, guess you just really wanted to get your ass kicked. I'm not one to judge." 

"Well  _ someone's  _ gotta get their ass kicked," Mask mumbled as he strapped on the kokiri shield, drawing his sword and twirling it. His eyes flitted around the dim room, with Green standing ready by his side.

Gritting his teeth and cursing the lack of visibility, he figured it would be easier to close his eyes entirely, relying on his long, twitching ears to locate the enemy. Fortunately, he'd had a lot of practice with this type of fighting from his many times in the Era of Twilight. As much as those battles sucked, if he didn't have them he'd be screwed. 

Apparently, according to legend, Hylian ears were large so they could hear the voice of the goddess. Mask called bullshit on that. His long ears weren't useful for very much, but he'd be damned if they weren't sensitive. He could hear the drips from the ceiling, and the spirits' footsteps on the stone. Best of all, he could hear his enemy, chuckling softly from the darkness. Green took a short, if unnecessary, breath to his left as the solid shadows slithered across the ground. 

His right ear twitched, and Mask brought his shield up just in time to block the slashing, needle-sharp tendrils of darkness that would've disemboweled him. Green's shout and Shadow's screech alerted him to the first hit landed. His friend swung again. Two versions of the same sword met with a clang. 

Green's footsteps shifted left, so Mask ran right, effectively surrounding the enemy sword spirit. 

Few words were spoken, both parties too focused on the battle at hand to make any attempt at conversation. A couple of quips were shared by Shadow and Mask between blows, but other than that no small talk was shared. It made things harder to pinpoint, sure, but he was fairing just fine. 

The two of them, Green and Mask, actually made quite the team. They covered each other's blind spots (sometimes quite literally), and Mask's shield was able to block blows for them both. Neither of them were particularly flat-footed, and they danced gracefully around every swing that Shadow made. 

Shadow himself wasn't too shabby either. Sure, he couldn’t land a hit on either of them, but  _ they  _ couldn't hit  _ him  _ either, and that balanced things out. Between his natural speed and his newfound abilities, striking him was nearly impossible. He did a good job keeping up with the both of them, parrying each blow with a kind of ease that Mask could only dream of. Shadow was easily one of the most formidable foes he'd ever fought, and he was glad that the spirit didn't  _ really  _ want to kill him. Yet. 

Eventually, Mask found a pattern in the heat of battle, falling back on instinct and autopilot to get him through alive. Block, dodge, swing, block, repeat. Muscle memory served him well, and soon they were pushing the dark spirit back against the wall. 

Mask's boots and bare legs dripped water from the various puddles littering the floor, and his hair had fallen out of its ponytail again. He blew his bangs from his face, falling back a little to catch his breath while Green went on the offensive. 

This battle was taking much longer than he'd anticipated, and he could feel himself tiring. Mask hadn't fought anything like this since he'd last battled alongside the captain, and he was afraid he'd gotten a little rusty. He needed to end this before he lost his energy completely. 

Green hissed as Shadow's slice barely missed his cheek, cutting the air between his torso and floating arm with a woosh. Ears twitching, Mask reached into the pouch he'd clipped to his belt earlier and ran forwards. 

He grabbed the back of Green's shirt and yanked him away, turning him around so he wasn't facing the other spirit. Ignoring Shadow's confusion with his eyes closed tight, Mask threw the Deku Nut onto the floor. 

Even behind closed eyelids, Mask saw spots. 

" _ Ahh _ !  _ Yousonovabitch!"  _ Screamed Shadow, dropping his sword with an audible clang and scrubbing furiously at his eyes. " _ What the fuck was that?" _

Green detangled himself from Mask's grip, both of them darting forwards to restrain the enemy spirit. 

Mask nodded to Shadow as he kicked up the spirit's sword, catching it and swinging it twice for good measure. It really was a nice sword, Green (Link, whatever) did a good job on it. 

Silently, Green took Shadow's hands and pinned them to the stone under his knees. The other spirit cursed loudly. 

Mask bent down above where he assumed Shadow's face to be -at least according to the swears- and let his hair drip water into his eyes. "So we've beaten you, Dink thinks you fought us, so now you can listen to what we have to offer." 

"Oh woe is me I've been bested by a ten year old." The spirit snarked, voice shaking in silent pain. "And blinded. Can't forget blinded." 

"Actually," Mask grinned, an evil edge to his voice. "I'm eleven, so fuck you." 

" _ Mask."  _ Green hissed.

"Right." 

Shadow finally managed to open his eyes, which cast a faint indigo glow across his face. He sniffled as he blinked back tears, getting used to the dim light. "So you had something to offer me?" 

"Yup." Mask stood back up and began to wring out his hair, trying to lean Shadow's sword against the damp wall but misjudging the distance. The blade clattered to the floor. "That is, unless you  _ don't  _ want a chance for revenge on Dink, and an opportunity to help us rescue Vio in the process." 

" You had me at revenge." He sighed, "So what exactly am I agreeing to? If you want more of those special torches, I'm afraid I'm fresh out. This place stinks like a bokoblin's hairy behind." 

Mask shook his head in disappointment. Those torches were pretty cool. Green answered the question for him, shooting back a slightly annoyed glance to which Mask only smiled. "You know how Vio kinda betrayed us only to double betray you less than a week later?"

Shadow scoffed, and Mask had to stifle a chuckle. "How could I forget." 

"Yeah, well…" Green, stood up and allowed Shadow to get to his feet. "We want you to do that, like, for us." 

Sick of talking blind, Mask spun on his heel and started towards the middle of the room where the dim light was brightest. He hated this place so much. 

Now his eyes hurt from the strain. Damnit. 

Footsteps sounded behind him, as both spirits came into the circle of light. Shadow grinned, sharp teeth flashing. "So basically, I'd give you information and warnings about shit and accidentally help you sometimes, and you'd help me get Vio back. Got it." 

“And the others!” Green interjected loudly, “you need to help the others as well. If we want to confront Dark Link we’re going to need their help too.” 

Shadow nodded sagely, rubbing his chin and looking up at the ceiling far above. “Okay, sure. Seems easy enough, but if they kill me it’s not my fault.” He turned to Mask with one eyebrow raised. “Anything else?” 

Mask scowled. To be completely honest, he’d prefer the other heroes weren’t involved with this at all. Their very presence is a breeding ground for paradoxes and problems he had to fix, but it seemed that he had no choice in this matter. The goddess brought them into this mess, so it was his job to get them out. He rubbed the space between his eyes, staving off a headache through pure force of will. “Just-" He took a deep, supposedly calming breath. "P lease try not to break the universe while you’re at it.” 

Laughing, Shadow gave a mock salute, floating well above their heads. “Sure, I’ll try, but no promises!” He shouted, slowly vanishing from sight until he was nothing but his namesake. 

The two of them waited a few moments more at the bottom of that pit, simply staring upwards and letting the rush wear off. The feeling of dread that had been eating away at Mask’s insides grew a little bit larger now that Shadow wasn’t right in front of him. The spirit was too chaotic, too uncontrolled. He could practically  _ feel _ the timelines splintering where he stood. 

“Mask? You good?” Green waved a hand in front of his face, worried. Right. He was still here. 

“Fine.” He managed to grunt out, grabbing the ocarina from his belt. “I’ll get us out of here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a link to a picture I drew of Yellow, in case you want to see how I envision him. 
> 
> https://bannanamug.tumblr.com/post/626749647012167680/heres-yellow-from-my-new-story-unmasked-along
> 
> Here's Sky and Aia, for all you newcomers. 
> 
> https://bannanamug.tumblr.com/post/624917315436347392/sword-spiritsky-and-aia-from-my-fanfiction-when
> 
> And here's Mask!
> 
> https://bannanamug.tumblr.com/post/627026932748484608/my-version-of-mask-plus-a-little-easter-egg


End file.
